Homecoming
by Mystery of the Emblem
Summary: Ike's line has been wielding Ragnell for a very long time. The blade is getting old, and it's about time Priam returned it to where it came from.


**I adore Priam, and I wish we'd gotten him earlier instead of near the end. I suppose he could be considered a wonderful Easter Egg. But I was always sad to see Ragnell so wrecked, and the description of it in the art book, about how the blade seems to be nearing the end of its life, it kind of brought this on.**

* * *

It was an odd feeling, going to a place you had never been before, but feeling as though he knew it like the back of his hand. Priam had stepped off the ship that carried him to Begnion, on the continent of Tellius, and stopped to stare and soak in his surroundings.

Despite all of his travels, they never brought him to this place. He longed for battle, to test his strength and abilities. He also longed for answers. He knew he was descended from the Radiant Hero himself, and he knew a bit of his family line. But he could find nothing about Ike, and very little about Ike's own son.

One evening, as the sun had set, Priam had been deep in meditation. Something had come over him. It was almost as if the blade Ragnell, or someone else, had been speaking to him directly. The blade was old. It was clear by the scratches and gouges missing from it. He sat there for a while, his thumb tracing all the nicks and scars of the old weapon.

 _It needs to be returned home, before it shatters._

He looked around, but there was no one. Of course there wasn't. But who ignores a spectral voice, especially if - the hairs on the back of his neck prickled - it was your ancestor?

"Ike?" he called.

There was a chuckle. Priam rose to his feet, fear washing over him for the first time in his life. He believed in a lot of things, but he was horrified at the idea of the spectral form of the Radiant Hero. Nothing appeared to him, but he heard it again.

 _Let Ragnell sit with Alondite._

Though sleep barely came that night, Priam spent the next morning in a frenzy. He immersed himself in his notes. They were kept deep in his bag where no one could find them. He prided himself on strength, but his curiosity was also alive. And he supposed he would feel awful if he was the cause of Ragnell shattering to pieces.

As he thumbed through what he had, Ragnell rested on the table next to him. He finally found what he wanted, deep in the information he had about Soren, the name Tellius. He returned the papers to their protective leather case, and tucked it back under his clothes. He had a reputation to maintain. If anyone knew he was near drooling over information of where he came from, they would not see him as the powerhouse he was.

Gingerly, a word never used to describe his handling of Ragnell, he wrapped the sword and held it with both hands. It was time to find a ship.

It took a while to find a port, but his thoughts carried him. The port he came to was bustling. A part of him longed to get a room, and yet the part that wanted answers won out. He walked from ship to ship, inquiring on their voyage. The sixth mentioned Tellius. _Is this Ike's doing?_ he wondered. He gripped the hilt of Ragnell tightly and asked about booking passage. The captain seemed reluctant, but eventually they settled on Priam getting a small cabin, if he pulled his weight around the ship.

"That will be easy," he promised.

"We sail in the morning."

Priam gave a quick wave and walked to a nearby inn. After getting a small room, he was invited to take a seat for dinner. He chose a corner table, for once not wanting to be the focus of attention. In the shadowy corner, he pulled his papers from his bag again. _Alondite_ he wrote, with a question mark to it. In all his travels, he had never heard of it.

That evening's meal was placed before him by a small, pretty serving girl. She batted her eyelashes at him and inclined her head towards the rooms. Priam smiled but held up a hand in denial. Perhaps any other time he would have invited her to his room that night. But he had a ship to catch.

Though he _did_ find it amusing. Was that how Selyne caught Ike? He snorted his laughter into his stew.

Priam had never been bothered by sea travel. He liked the ships. They were calming. Well, as long as the sea was calm itself. He kept to himself mostly, doing as the captain commanded. But one night, he found himself confronted by the curious young son of the captain.

"Why are you going to Tellius?"

Priam thought for a second. "I have family there." It might not have been a lie. Ike did, after all, have a sister. She could have descendants of her own.

"Not many people want to go to Tellius. We trade there," he continued. Priam leaned against the railing and listened to the young boy's rambling talk. He would nod and make the occasional noise, but all he knew is they were going to Begnion.

"Boy, you have chores to finish!" The captain's voice made both of them jump.

"Sorry, Dad!" He scurried past his father and around the corner.

"Sorry about him, he's a curious kid."

Priam smiled to himself as he looked out to sea. "It's fine. Aren't we all a little curious? Especially about people we don't know?"

He did not see the captain's son for the rest of the voyage. He hoped he did not get the boy in trouble. When it came time to disembark, he gave the captain a final wave. His first steps in this new country was a bit of culture shock.

What surprised him most was not the busyness of the city. Or how populous it was. What shocked him was the humans and animalesque humans _mingling._ He shook his head to clear his mind. Laguz. The animal-like humans were _laguz._ He had been told so on the ship. And humans were considered beorcs.

He took a few more steps, past young women selling fruits and vegetables, past another man selling sausages. Weapon merchants shouted at him, each trying their best to convince this strong young man he needed their sharp blades.

"Excuse me," he called to a woman who sat mending a cloak. She was not trying to sell him something, so he approached her. "Who is charge?"

"At the port?" she asked, her dark green eyes wide with curiosity.

"The city," Priam said, his cheeks turning a faint pink. He should have been more clear.

"Empress Sephora." She gestured towards the large building that towered over all the others despite the distance. "But I'm not sure how easy it will be to meet with her right now. Representatives from all countries on Tellius are here."

"Thank you." On a whim, he reached into his bag, almost certain his gold would be no good here, but he tossed her a coin and she caught it.

He walked through the busy streets, his mind set on the building. Though he was focused, Priam did notice that people would either ignore him, or stop entire conversations and watch him pass. As he finally reached the steps of the large building, he stopped. It was packed. Perhaps he could find a room and wait until this meeting was over with? Now that he was on Tellius, he was in no hurry.

Something caused him to freeze. He looked up. At the top of the steps stood a man with long black hair. From his back sprouted black wings. He caught Priam's gaze, and Priam stared back. The other man looked away but gestured to someone else.

Priam groaned and thought to flee. What had he gotten himself into? He could fight his way out of a situation, but could Ragnell withstand it? In his heart, he did not think so.

A guard approached him. His hand tightened on Ragnell, but he did not draw the blade. "Come with me," the guard to him. "No need for that," he added, pointing to the wrapped sword.

"I need to see the empress," he insisted, not removing his hand from the weapon.

"And she'll see you. Come inside, we'll get her away from the Beast King."

Priam followed the guard inside. He expected the laguz to be waiting for them, but there was no one. Hurried, muffled footsteps reached his ears. "You've come!"

The speaker was a young woman, perhaps in her late teens. Her hair was braided and reached her waist. At first, Priam thought it was black. But on closer look, it was a deep purple. Her eyes were alight with glee and anticipation. For a moment, it looked as though she was going to hug him, but she stopped short.

"You knew I was coming? Who told?"

She sighed and held her braid. She began to run her hands down it in a comforting gesture. "I saw it. In my dream. You really are descended from him, aren't you?"

"In a dream?"

"I'm sorry, forgive me. I'm Empress Sephora."

"But you're so young."

She laughed and nodded. "Yes, I came to the title of Empress very young, but I have been guided by the most wonderful people. I knew you were coming," she added, nodding her head a little as she spoke. Her eagerness and happiness was kind of cute in a way. "But why are you here?"

Priam laughed and said, "Well, I guess I am in the right place. I am here," he knelt and offered the greatsword, "because of Ragnell."

"Oh!" She blushed and insisted Priam rise to his feet. She took him by the wrists instead and said, "You must tell me everything! No one has known what happened to the Radiant Hero when he left, and everyone will be so pleased to have you with us - "

"Calm yourself, Sephora." The laguz had joined them. His hands were tucked away in his sleeve, but Priam felt no threat. "It is very clear he is descended from Lord Ike. Even without Ragnell." To Priam, he added, "You could be a near spitting image, though your complexion is darker and you are not as muscular."

"How - how do you know - ?"

The man laughed, but it was Sephora who answered. "This is Lehran. He has guided me and so many more of us over the years. He was alive back when the Radiant Hero earned his title, and then left."

Priam shook his head, still aware of the empress's grip on his wrists. "That's impossible."

Lehran smiled and said, "Oh, anything is possible, don't you think? Here we have a descendant of the Radiant Hero in front of us, something all of Tellius never expected to see. With my own excitable descendant, no less."

"Your own..."

"Lehran has been with us for thousands of years. I know you might not believe it, but he has guided us all. Please," the empress took a deep breath and released Priam, "follow me. Tell me what brought you here."

Priam shook his head to try to clear his mind. Could it be possible? Could someone really live for so long? He followed the empress and Lehran. As they walked deep into the castle, he explained of the voice, of Ragnell nearing the end, and of how someone wanted it returned with Alondite.

"Then you've come to the right place," Lehran announced.

"We have Alondite. My ancestor, Empress Sanaki, was the one who gave Ragnell to Ike."

"Really?"

She giggled and nodded. "You have so much to tell us, I do not doubt it, Priam."

The feeling he received from these two was comforting. Priam stopped and reached into his bag. He held the papers he had collected over the years as he crossed Ylisse. He held onto them for a moment longer before placing them in Lehran's hands. "It isn't much," he whispered. "But it's all I could find."

"What happened to the Radiant Hero? Do you know that?"

"He took a lover, Selyne. She was an innkeeper or serving girl, the stories are conflicting."

Lehran smiled as he held the papers. "As they do over time."

"He took a lover?" Sephora's eyes sparkled again like a young girl's would over an exciting romance story. "Of all the women around here who wanted him - "

"And there were many," Lehran added with a laugh.

"I wonder... what was she like?"

Priam shook his head. "I can't really say. She had a diary, but it was destroyed in a fit of grief by Ike. I found that out when I found some of Soren's writings. After she died in childbirth, Ike did not have any other relationships as far as I could tell. His son, Sel, was named for his mother. As for Soren, he stayed with Ike, then Sel, and even Sel's descendants from what I read."

"Soren was Branded," Lehran explained. "As Sephora is. He was the child of a laguz and beorc, and as such, they live longer lives. I am not surprised. Soren was hard to pry from Ike's side. I would never doubt him caring for Ike's own bloodline."

"I guess I have a lot to learn about that, too." Priam followed them down a staircase and into what looked to be a treasure room. In the middle stood a large glass case. It housed a sword much like Ragnell, but silver and beautiful. There were no flaws in the weapon that he could see.

"Alondite," Sephora explained. "The two are sister blades, both wielded by my ancestor, Altina." She reached out to touch the glass as Lehran reached for Ragnell. He gingerly unwrapped the blade. There was a sinking feeling in Priam's stomach as Ragnell was revealed.

While Alondite looked nearly pristine and lovely, Ragnell had been through hell and back. Neither spoke as Ragnell was placed inside the case with Alondite. When the case was sealed again, Sephora whispered her thanks.

Priam did not speak. He still studied the shocking difference in appearance.

Lehran seemed to sense his emotions. He placed a hand on Priam's shoulder. "Ragnell has been loved and lived a long life for such a weapon. Alondite has not been wielded since General Zelgius. He was a man who, in Ike's time, took the role of the Black Knight and worked under the Mad King Ashnard. When he was finally brought down, Alondite was returned to us. Do not feel badly for using Ragnell."

"Will you stay?" Sephora asked. "It is nearly noon, and I'm famished. Please?"

Priam chuckled and turned away from the case. "I can't deny an Empress, can I?" As they returned up the stairs, he looked back one last time. Though his hand would miss the blade, he did the right thing returning it. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled again, but he heard nothing else.


End file.
